Fantasy Football: Who are the top 5 players in 2015?

Ignore all other Fantasy Football rankings. We’ve got the top five fantasy players in 2015, yet that doesn’t mean we agree. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Check out more of the brothers in Seesaw Sports Debate on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

There is an interesting development at the top of fantasy football rankings for the 2015 season insofar as it seems that no one deserves to be ranked at the top at all. There are major questions about who should even be this season’s number-one pick.

Is it Adrian Peterson coming off of a missed season?

Is it Le’Veon Bell, who is suspended for the first three games of the season pending an appeal? With no suspension, he’d be my top pick for sure.

Is it someone seemingly bland without a huge ceiling like Marshawn Lynch or Eddie Lacy?

The top running backs are so questionable that it brings up possibilities of Antonio Brown or Rob Gronkowski in the first round.

So give me your order of the top five or six players in fantasy football this season. I doubt a non-RB will sneak in there, but I leave the possibility up to you. Here is how the top of my fantasy board looks. Just know that I don’t feel great about it and am elated that I no longer participate in any snake drafts. Auctions make this process less yucky.

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Eddie Lacy
3. Le’Veon Bell
4. Jamaal Charles
5. Matt Forte
6. Marshawn Lynch

DAN:

This a tricky mess, determining the top five picks in a fantasy draft. I understand your reasoning for leaving out both quarterbacks and wide receivers, but I also find it flawed. Yes its true that there are fewer great running backs. It’s also true that the drop off from the top of the running back class to the second tier is staggering, more so than at any other position. Yet neither of those statements has bearing on who scores the most fantasy points week in and week out.

Quarterbacks score the most fantasy points every week, and the running QBs really stand out from the pack. It’s difficult to know which of the top quarterbacks will actually be running the ball much this season, but there are two signal callers deserving of top five consideration. We debated their merits head to head, but both Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck must belong in this conversation.

January 18, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) hands off to running back Eddie Lacy (27) against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half in the NFC Championship game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Rodgers and Luck were one and two last year in total fantasy points, followed by four more quarterbacks. Running back DeMarco Murray then falls in at number seven, followed by Le’Veon Bell. All the way down at number eighteen is Antonio Brown as the top wide receiver.

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I don’t believe wide receivers are deserving of the top five, or six, in your case. The best receivers sore the most touchdowns, but the difference between number one and number ten is slight. Nearly every NFL team has a solid fantasy football wide receiver on its roster.

I’m also a little weary of Adrian Peterson. An entire year away from football could mean his legs are fresh, or it could mean he will have officially lost a step. This bumps him from the number one spot in my book. I went seven deep, because I couldn’t resist.

1. Andrew Luck
2. Eddie Lacy
3. DeMarco Murray
4. Le’Veon Bell
5. Adrian Peterson
6. Aaron Rodgers
7. Marshawn Lynch

If you remove the two quarterbacks, our lists are very similar. But your snub of Murray surprises me. I see him racking up even more fantasy points in Philadelphia then he did in Dallas. He won’t be needed to run quite as much, but the Eagles’ offense is more dynamic and will get the ball in his hands even more so.

Bottom line, this is how I would draft. I’m not passing on either of the top quarterbacks this early. They are simply too damn good.

Next: Fantasy Football - Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck?

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